Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
What is special about scrub?
• Xeric, low nutrient soils• Fire dependent• Gaps are important
• Threatened habitat,plants and animals
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Rosemary Scrub
Different kinds of scrub
Sand Pine ScrubCoastal Scrub
Weirdness – Asclepias curtissii
• Unique flower structure limits pollinator types
• Unusual pollination syndrome
• Seeds dispersed by wind
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Asclepias curtissii – Pollination
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Tiny Plants – Look Closely
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Stipulicida setacea Polygala smallii
Allelopathy – Ceratiola ericoides
• Allelopathic. Releases chemicals into the soil to prevent competition
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Aromatic. Volatile oils in foliage may inhibit herbivory
Parasitic Plants – Cassytha filiformis
• Grows from seed, then forms haustoria andis parasitic on host
• Lauraceae family
• Mats may contribute to gaps in scrub
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Plants & Animals – Opuntia
• Flowers attract fumbly bugs • Cochineal insects
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Plants & Animals – Asimina tetramera
• Federally endangered
• Larval food plant forzebra swallowtail butterfly
• Edible fruits – yummy food for gopher tortoises and Florida mouse
• Pungent
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Rare Plants – Asimina tetramera
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Fire adapted. Needs a nurse plant when young. Long lived
Rare Plants – Harrissia fragrans
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Not fire adapted. Needs a nurse plant when young
Rare Plants – Dicerandra immaculata
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Pesticide spraying may limit pollinators
• Mint family
• Flower has no spots
• Limited seeddispersal
• Small range, rare and critically imperiled
Not Plants – Lichens
• Composite organisms –a fungus plus a photosynthetic partner
• Can survive extremeconditions
• Bare sand areas may create refugia during fire
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Lichens have traveled to space!
Not Plants – Cladonia perforata
• Yellowish-green color with round holes
• Unusual disjunctdistribution
• Lives on xeric, whitesand. In sand pine scrub, rosemary balds
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Federally endangered
Credits
Thanks to the following
Dr. Anne Cox; US Fish and Wildlife Service; Florida Natural Areas Inventory; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Environmental Resources Management, Palm Beach County; University of South Florida Herbarium; Florida Native Plant Society
Photography by: Shirley Denton, Anne Cox, Ann Malatesta, Paul Rebmann, Betty Wargo, Michael Jenkins, Marjorie Shropshireand others.
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Design by Shark River Creative, Inc., Jensen Beach, Florida